Fort Wayne MSA climbs higher on jobs index

Fort Wayne MSA climbs higher on jobs index

Posted: Monday, January 21, 2013 10:44 am | Updated: 10:55 am, Mon Jan 21, 2013.

The Fort Wayne metropolitan statistical area, which includes Allen, Wells and Whitley counties, ranked 59th overall on the Milken Institutes 2012 Best-Performing Cities index of the country's 200 largest metro areas.

The Fort Wayne MSA jumped 68 spots from the 2011 index compiled by the Santa Monica, Calif.-based institute, which is a nonpartisan think tank that focuses on economic and policy issues.

The index includes data on MSAs' job and wage growth. Among the data compiled by the Milken Institute, the Fort Wayne MSA ranked: 139th in five-year job growth from 2006-2011; 24th in one-year job growth from 2010-2011; 169th in five-year wages and salaries growth from 2005-2010; 75th in one-year wages and salaries growth from 2009-2010; and 13th in job-growth percentage increase from May 2011 to May 2012.

The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif., MSA placed first overall on the Milken Institute 2012 index, while the Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla., MSA was ranked 200th. The Indianapolis-Carmel MSA was ranked 51st overall.

"The Fort Wayne MSA shows real strength in the area of job growth," John Stafford, director of the Community Research Institute at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, said in a statement released by the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership. "The numbers are compelling and demonstrate steady economic progress in northeast Indiana."

To view the Milken Institute's 2012 Best-Performing Cities index, go to http://bestcities.milkeninstitute.org.

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